Professor Martin Siegert is responsible for the strategic development of our operations in Cornwall. He oversees a diverse academic community including mining and renewable energy, climate, ecology and sustainability, and human health and culture. Activity in Cornwall is focused upon supporting the region’s impact and aspirations – from exploring the potential of space, to finding solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss.

Cornwall campuses include the renowned Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI) on our Penryn campus and our Truro campus, at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, the location of our European Centre for Environment and Human Health. Together, these two institutes bring in more than £16m of research income into Cornwall every year, which has been evaluated to create three additional jobs for every academic member of staff.

Professor Siegert is a Polar scientist who uses airborne and ground-based geophysics to explore the subglacial environment of Antarctica, and to understand how the ice sheet has changed in the past and how it may change in future. He has published over 250 scientific papers and recently edited the second edition of Antarctic Climate Evolution, which details the history of the continent over the past 60 million years.

He joined us in November 2022 from Imperial College London, where he was Co-Director of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change. Prior to that he was Head of the School of Geosciences and Assistant Principal for Climate Change and Energy at the University of Edinburgh.

Amie became the Director of Cornwall Operations in January 2020. She first joined the University in November 2012 to work for Research Services in the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, and later joined the IIB team in June 2016.

As Director of Cornwall Operations, Amie works closely with the Vice President and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Cornwall, Directors of Faculty Operations, and professional services teams to help deliver Cornwall’s vision and strategy. She is a member of the University’s Professional Services Leadership Team.

Prior to relocating to Cornwall, Amie lived in Edinburgh where she worked for the Convention on Scottish Local Authorities as the political advisor on climate change and waste. She has also worked for various environmental charities including WWF Scotland and Keep Scotland Beautiful.

Amie has a BA in Human Ecology and an MSc in International Development and Rural Planning.